Besançon
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Besancon

The capital of Franche-Comté, BESANÇON is an ancient and attractive grey-stone town at the northern edge of the Jura mountains, enclosed in a loop of the River Doubs, whose lugubrious meanders define the layout of the old town. If you want to stay in a Besançon hotel, check this website. The tongue of land it sits on has been protected since Roman times, when it lay on a major trading route; the indefatigable Vauban added the still-extant fortifications and a Citadel to guard the natural breach in the river. Once a major centre of French clock-making, Besançon was also the birthplace of artificial silk – or rayon – in 1890. It counts among its native sons both the pioneering Lumière brothers and epic novelist Victor Hugo.

The River Doubs rises on the high plateau 100km to the south of here, making a diversion far to the northeast of the town, gathering tributaries and broadening as it briefly crosses the Swiss border before entering Besançon. A lazy journey upstream to Pontarlier can make a rewarding excursion over a couple of days. From Pontarlier a direct return north to Besançon can be made by following the River Loue's steep descent through its heavily wooded valley past the pretty mill town of Ornans.